Chickasaw 2014-15 season

One of Mobile’s most intrepid troupes, Chickasaw Civic Theatre, has released its new schedule for the 2014-15 season and will return to its normal run of five shows.

The last season featured nearly three times that number in commemoration of its 50th anniversary.

The season begins Sept. 12 with “Shrek,” an award-winning romp through a lovable ogre’s journey from curmudgeon to paramour. Scott Morlock, whose “Scrooge: The Musical,” “Aladdin,” “Pinocchio” and “Kitty Cats” delighted Mobile audiences, will direct for the musical’s three-weekend run.

On Nov. 7, “Driving Miss Daisy” begins a two-week journey from the stage into the hearts of patrons. The play by Alfred Uhry about a southern dowager and her African-American driver enjoyed a pair of Broadway runs and a 1989 Oscar-winning film. Leonora Harrison directs this regional favorite.

“The Light in the Piazza” begins Jan. 23, 2015 under the guidance of Mobile chanteuse Stacy Driskell, famed for her own stage work with the Mobile Opera. This musical by Craig Lucas and Adam Guettel opened on Broadway a decade ago and unfurls a passionate tale of love discovered as an American mother and daughter tour Italy. It runs for two weekends.

Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” is next on the Chickasaw stage with Bill Watts helming the production. The classic story of shipwrecked twins, romance and switched identities is one of the bard’s most noted comedies. It opens Feb. 27 and runs through March 8.

Closing the season will be the classic “Mary Poppins,” set to open May 29 for a three-weekend run, pending availability of rights. Mary Jo Alsip directs the play about the magical nanny.